FROM: James D. Herberg, General Manager
Originator: James D. Herberg, General Manager
SUBJECT:
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WATER UCI INDUSTRY UNIVERSITY RESEARCH CENTER ANALYSIS
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GENERAL MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION
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RECOMMENDATION: Recommend to the Board of Directors to:
Authorize the General Manager to enter into an agreement with the University of California, Irvine (UCI) and the UCI Foundation with a contribution of $50,000 for the Sewershed-scale analysis of perfluorinated compounds in wastewater in partnership with the Orange County Water District, Irvine Ranch Water District, Santa Margarita Water District, and Moulton Niguel Water District; in a form approved by General Counsel.
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BACKGROUND
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are synthetic chemicals that have been widely used in consumer and industrial products since the 1940s due to their resistance to heat, water, and oil. These chemicals do not break down readily in the environment and can accumulate over time. As a result of their presence in everyday items, more than 95 percent the U.S. population has PFAS in their bodies, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
This year, the California Division of Drinking water issued new notification and response levels of PFAS for drinking water. These levels are more stringent than the health advisory levels established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2016.
In July 2020, the Orange County Sanitation District (Sanitation District) received an order from the State Water Board to begin testing our influent, effluent, and biosolids for PFAS compounds on a quarterly basis. Utilities like the Sanitation District are receivers of PFAS compounds from incoming wastewater and the sources of these compounds in wastewater influent have not been documented.
The objectives of the proposed project with the UCI Industry Research Center are to develop a methodology to identify the sources of PFAS in wastewater in...
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